'NYPD Blue' Writer Punches Poodle to Death

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A former writer for the television series "NYPD Blue" has punched his nearly five-year-old poodle in the face, causing the animal to die of traumatic brain injury.

Ted Shuttleworth, 51, was arrested on Saturday in Queens, NY for punching his poodle in the face after allegedly getting angry at the dog. The poodle weighed about four pounds and died due to the wounds sustained at the hands of its owner. The incident occurred on May 29.

Following the incident, Shuttleworth took the poodle to the vet, who became immediately suspicious and called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The organization carried out an investigation into the poodle's death.

"Lola sustained a traumatic brain injury secondary to the application of blunt force to the right side of her head at the hands of the suspect, her owner," ASPCA spokesman Joseph Pentangelo told The New York Post.

ASPCA was founded by Henry Bergh in 1866 and is the first humane organization in the Western Hemisphere. The organization works to "provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States," according to the ASPCA website.

Shuttleworth is a native New Yorker and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He describes himself as a "screenwriter, husband, and father of two," on his Twitter page. He served as a screenwriter for "NYPD Blue" and also says that he formerly served as a story analyst for famed Hollywood directors Steven Spielberg and James Cameron.

The 51-year-old also worked on the 2001 television series "Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family," according to imdb.com.

The screenwriter faces up to a year in prison for the death. His wife, Isadora Monk Shuttleworth called the death of their pet "a horrible accident."